Tag Archives: weight gout risk

If you are trying to lower your risk of gout or reduce your risk of painful attacks once you have it, one of your best defenses may be to achieve or maintain a healthy weight.

“Higher weight is associated with higher uric acid levels in the blood, which therefore increases gout risk,” says Tuhina Neogi, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine. Gout occurs when uric acid builds up in the body and then crystallizes in the joints, causing intense and often crippling pain, inflammation, stiffness and swelling.

In 1991, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that men who gained excessive amounts of weight in young adulthood were more likely to develop gout later in life, with the greatest risk occurring with the highest body mass index (BMI) at age 35.